Galapagos GDS, the First Global Distribution System Dedicated to the Galapagos Islands, is Launching its Highly-Anticipated Service Today.
Galapagos has been a notoriously difficult destination for travel agents to sell largely due to the lack of a centralized database of cruise ship availability, prices, and integration with GDS systems. Agents generally need to have in-depth knowledge of the cruise vessels that would be a good match for the needs of their clients, and then manually call or email many different cruise lines to see if they have cabin availability for their clients� dates.
Now, travel professionals will have a set of tools at GalapagosGDS.com that include a web-based cruise search and API�s that connect the reservation systems of each cruise line with online travel agencies (OTA�s) across the globe dramatically streamlining the sales and operations processes for both the cruise line and the OTA.
The most obvious advantage to travel agents is time savings because they�ll be able to quote their clients in minutes, instead of hours or even days, beating the competition to the sale. �Response time is money in Galapagos,� says Erin Correia, of Adventure Life, who was named the top Galapagos Travel Advisor by Travel & Leisure in 2018.
Jason Halberstadt, the Founder and CEO of Metamorf states: "We have been working with several Galapagos cruise lines and dozens of agents that sell their cruises for over 20 years helping them to supercharge their digital marketing efforts. We�ve seen a huge need from both cruise lines and agencies to modernize the sales and distribution process, but the problem has been that most cruise lines have managed their cabin availability in notebooks, excel spreadsheets and disconnected custom made reservation systems that don�t talk to GDS�s or the systems of their OTA�s.
"I�ve been waiting for two decades for the right moment when cruise lines are technologically sophisticated enough to be able to participate in a GDS, and we are finally announcing the launch of the long-awaited system today."
The increased efficiency created by integrating cruise lines with GalapgosGDS is expected to cause a shift in tourism in the Galapagos causing growth in cruise based tourism possibly at the expense of hotel and land-based tours. Land-based tours are much less regulated than cruises and have been criticized for their environmental sustainability in a New York Times article earlier this year.
Cruise-based tourism in the Galapagos is more highly-regulated than perhaps any destination on the planet and strict laws apply such as limiting the number of vessels operating and requiring all vessels to maintain strict itineraries to minimize environmental impact.
Filling empty cabins on Galapagos cruises by making the booking process much more efficient is expected to bring both economic and ecological benefits to the Islands and their residents. �We are proud of creating what we see as a win-win-win situation for cruise lines, agencies and the Galapagos Islands themselves,� says Halberstadt.
About Metamorf
Metamorf S.A. was founded in 1998 and is dedicated to producing exceptional results in digital marketing and lead generation for leisure travel companies. Specializing in content strategy, SEO, SEM, website, and application development for the tourism industry, Metamorf launched GalapagosGDS.com in 2019 to dramatically increase efficiency and grow sales of Galapagos cruise lines and agencies that sell Galapagos cruises around the world. They are based in Quito, Ecuador with a presence in Silicon Valley, USA. Contact them at [email protected] or 831-332-3997. Websites: GalapagosGDS.com & Metamorf.com
About Travel Mart Latin America
Today, TravelMart LatinAmerica (TMLA) is widely recognized as the most important �strictly business� annual event for building business to Latin America from world-wide markets. The Event provides an efficient and effective opportunity for Buyers of Leisure Travel Services to research, identify, and develop the new products and services in South and Central America. Senior Sales Executives representing South & Central America Suppliers have the opportunity to �show and tell� their product, pricing, and promotion policies to Buyers who are genuinely interested in what they have to offer in an efficient and cost-effective �strictly business� format.
